Problem Solving

In all types of Management, whether project, process, or product, sometimes problems will occur that you need help defining or understanidng. These worksheets have been developed in an effort to assist in that process. The problem solving worksheets consist of five parts:

1. Part one: creating a viable and measurable problem statement
2. Part two: situation analysis
3. Part three: decision analysis
4. Part four: recommendation selection
5. Part five: situation and recommendation review

Problem Solving Worksheet (28 kb docx)

Problem Solving Powerpoint (86 kb pptx)

The problem solving worksheet is broken into these categories to ensure that problems are amply defined, the surrounding situation is understood inclusive of assumptions made, important factors in decision making are understood and agreed upon, multiple ideas have been considered, and the best solution is chosen based on the most important decision factors that had been identified.

Below is a recommended group exercise:

Choose a problem to work on together. Below are some ideas:

• Workers call in sick too much
• Woerks are surfing the Web on work hours
• Workers are not responding in a timely manner
• Workers communication is too informal or incomplete
• Workers are coming in late and/or leaving early
• Customer satisfaction is down
• Sales are down
• Materials costs are increasing
• A new competitor is taking our customers

Work through the problem solving worksheet step by step, stopping to address with other groups at the various stop points.